


Not Bad Company

by applejuiceandpeach



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming Out, Demi Regulus, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Marauders' Era, Secret Relationship, bi James
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 18:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15891381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/applejuiceandpeach/pseuds/applejuiceandpeach
Summary: An unlikely friendship grows into something more.





	Not Bad Company

The two started out as friends in secret after James found Regulus in one of the secret passageways, clutching a letter to his chest as sobs racked through his body. Sirius had always told the Marauders to be wary around his brother and to just leave him alone as long as he didn’t do anything to them. 

James didn’t even hesitate before rushing to his side and asking if he could hold him. Rather than speaking that first encounter, James just held Regulus in his arms until the latter calmed down. 

“Uh, thank you, James,” Regulus said awkwardly, avoiding eye-contact as he unwrapped himself from the boy’s embrace. 

“Reg, do you want to talk about whatever that was?” James asked eyeing the letter. 

“I have to go. Please don’t tell anyone about this. Especially Sirius.” 

Before James could respond, he was gone. 

\---

The second time they met up came as a surprise to both of them, Regulus thinking that James would want nothing to do with him after his breakdown, and James thinking that Regulus wouldn’t show up. 

James had sent an owl to the Slytherin with a note that said 

_ Regulus,  _

_ The same corridor as last week? Be there at 9pm _

_ -J _

Regulus was consumed with anxiety for the rest of the day, worried about what James wanted to talk about.  _ Maybe he told someone. Maybe he wanted to tell him what a freak he really is.  Maybe-  _

Thoughts like those followed him around all day, up until when he saw James waiting there, sitting on the floor fiddling with a piece of parchment in his hands. 

“Regulus, you came,” James said, standing up abruptly, folding the parchment back up.

“I-um, what’s this about?” He said, refusing to look James in the face. 

“Sit,” James said, patting the spot next to him. 

Regulus sat down dubiously, making sure that there was a good foot of space between the two. 

“Listen, I know we’re not close whatsoever, but I care about you-” 

Regulus cut James off with a sharp laugh, “You just said it yourself. We’re not close. How could you care about me if you don’t know me.” 

“I don’t have to know you to care about you. It wouldn’t matter who was down here, crying their eyes out. I would care.”

“Okay.” 

“Is that all you have to say?” James spoke up, turing to face the other boy who pointedly looked away. 

“I don’t want your pity,” The Black said stubbornly. 

“God, you and your brother really are alike. I’m not pitying you. I want to make sure you’re okay.” 

“Well, if that’s all you have to say, I’m going to leave. I’m fine and you don’t need to check up on me.” Regulus stood up and turned to walk away when James’s voice broke the silence. 

“Reg, wait. Please, can you just sit down for five minutes? Hear me out completely.” James was on the verge of pleading, if that was what it would take to get him to stay. Once he complied, doubling the distance between them, James plowed on. “Whatever you’re going through, I just want you to know that you are not alone. I may not be your closest friend or anything, but I’m here for you. Another thing, I don’t think it’s healthy for you to keep in whatever is going on. Sometimes it’s better to talk things out. You can’t get help if you don’t let people in.” 

Regulus stayed silent for a moment before saying in a soft voice, “It’s serious, James. If I tell you you can’t tell anyone. I could get killed for this.” 

“Regulus, I would never tell anyone anything you didn’t feel comfortable about. Please, just trust me.” 

The younger boy finally turned to face James, leaning his head against the wall. “This summer...this summer I’m supposed to get the Dark Mark.” James took a sharp breath, not saying anything. “Sirius was supposed to get it last summer, but he left before he would let that happen, leaving me there in that hellhole. It’s not what I want. My parents don’t know that, but that’s because I’ve never given them any reason to believe I felt otherwise. I’ve always gone along with what they said because I saw what would happen to me if I disobeyed like Sirius. I just don’t think I’m strong enough to run away like he did. I have nowhere to go. And if  _ they _ found out, I would surely be dead. James, I don’t know what to do,” Regulus’s voice broke as tears started welling up in his eyes. 

James scooted close to Regulus, hugging him as the boy cried in his arms for the second time that week. James felt so helpless, usually having all the answers. This was a foreign feeling and he didn’t like it. Sirius had never told him why he left. He showed up at his house and his exact words were, “I’m fucking done with those assholes” before bursting into tears. 

“You can stay at mine. Honestly, my parents were ready to kick your parent’s ass 

when Sirius showed up. Please, let me help you with this,” James said, voice full of remorse. He took Regulus’s hands, moving forward so their knees were touching. 

Regulus stayed quiet for a few minutes before pulling his hands from James and putting his arms around his knees. “I need time to think.” 

James nodded quickly saying, “Yeah of course. I don’t expect you to know what you want right away.” 

After a moment of awkward silence Regulus said, “I should probably go.” 

“Do you have to? You’re not bad company.” 

Regulus snorted, “How? All the times we’ve talked has ended in me being a crying mess.” 

“Well I guess we should get to know each other then.” 

~~~

In the following weeks they settled in a routine of meeting in that passageway every Wednesday evening after curfew. James made sure that he brought the Marauder’s map and invisibility cloak with him so that none of the other boys would know who he was seeing. It had sparked Sirius’s interest especially after he caught on that his friend was leaving every week until late morning. 

“James, we tell each other everything. We’re basically brothers. Why won’t you bloody tell me?” The older Black brother asked on a Thursday morning. 

“Because there are some things I want to keep private,” was all James simply said while doing his hair. 

“I told you  _  everything  _ that was going on with me and Moony before we were a thing. Why don’t you feel comfortable enough with me to tell me about whatever girl you’re seeing?” Sirius said heatedly, following James when he left the bathroom to put on his tie and shoes. “I mean, she must really be something if she’s made you forget Evans.” 

The week previous James had told Sirius he lost interest in the red-head he was always so fond of. He didn’t fully know why, because he and Regulus were just friends, but the idea of being with her just hadn’t been appealing anymore. 

“I’m not  _ seeing _ anyone. We just sit and talk. We’re not dating or anything. Just friends.” James clarified, not just for Sirius but for himself too. Lately he had to remind himself that the were, in fact, just friends. 

Remus rolled his eyes, hugging Sirius from behind and said, “Siri, leave him alone. He’ll tell us when he’s ready.” 

Sirius couldn’t argue with Remus, so that was the end of that. 

~~~

“James, has Sirius ever said anything about me?” Regulus asked. They had been meeting each other for about three months now and felt like they knew everything about one another, but the question had been eating away at Regulus since the beginning of their friendship. 

“Not lately.” 

“But he has?” 

“He had mentioned you once in first year, just saying he had a younger brother. In second he told us to stay away from you as long as you stayed away from us.” 

“Oh.” 

“Why?” 

Regulus shook his head before leaning on James’s shoulder. “Promise you won’t laugh?” 

“I would never.” 

“...when I first got to Hogwarts I hoped that Sirius and you guys would maybe take me in. I didn’t want to be with the people my parents said I had to hang out with. But I guess it makes sense. He thought I was like them. He still probably does.” 

James stayed quiet a minute, thinking over what Regulus just said. “Have you talked to him at all?” 

“Not since he left. I asked him where he was going and he said yours. I don’t think he wants to talk to me.” 

“Maybe if you tried to talk to him first-”

“You know he’s not the most approachable person. Like I said, he doesn’t want to talk to me. He thinks I’m a Death Eater.” 

“But if we explain to him that you’re going to leave your place and stay with me-”

“I never said that.” Regulus said, lifting his head and moving so he wasn’t  

touching James.  “Besides, he would probably think my mother wanted me to spy on you guys or something.” 

“Reg, why won’t you just say yes?” 

“Because.” 

“Because what?” James practically spit out. 

“I don’t want you to get hurt. My parents and their friends, they might...I don’t even want to say it. I couldn’t stand anyone getting hurt because of me.” 

“You would be hurting more people by being like them than staying safe. Reg, please.” 

“I still need more time.” 

“You can have all the time you need.” James said, reaching for Regulus’s shoulder. 

“How are you so patient? I’ve been nothing but difficult,” Regulus said, looking into James’s eyes. 

“I get that it’s a big decision. I don’t want to rush you.” 

“I don’t deserve you.” Regulus simply said, looking down from James’s gaze and fiddling with his hands. 

“I think I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.” 

With that, Regulus looked back up to see James smiling fondly at him. Regulus had been questioning his feelings for the other boy for a bit now, wondering if friends were supposed to do the things they do, wondering if he was supposed to think about James the way he did. In that moment, he knew what he wanted. 

“Kiss me,” He said softly. He barely finished his sentence when James crashed his lips onto the smaller boy’s, savoring the feeling. 

James put his hand on Regulus’s waist pulling him closer. Regulus didn’t really know what to do with his hands so he just gripped them lightly on James’s shoulders. 

Regulus was the first to pull away, nuzzling his head into James’s chest. They stayed like that for a few, precious minutes before Regulus lifted his head and looked at James’s face. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi.” 

Then they were back at it, Regulus making the first move this time. This kiss was not like the first. The first had been slow and sweet, both not believing this was happening. Now, it was firey and hungry, both wanting more. 

“Reg,” James sputtered out as the boy kissed up and down his neck, moving to nip James’s earlobe. 

“You like that?” Regulus said with a smirk, biting down a little harder, making James moan again. 

“Fuck, you are such a bloody tease,” The messy-haired boy mumbled against Regulus’s lips. They carried on, losing track of time and getting lost in each other. 

Eventually, Regulus pulled away and said, “James, we should go. It’s late.” 

“No,” The Potter boy said, mumbling against the other’s lips. 

“James, as much as I love this, won’t your friends get suspicious?” 

“Sirius is already pissed off at me for not telling him who I’ve been obsessed over.” James kissed Regulus one last time, lips lingering. “I can’t wait another week to see you. Not after this. Can we come here again tomorrow?” 

“You sure you won’t be sick of me?” Regulus joked, playing with James’s hair. 

“Never.” 

~~~

James, despite having gotten four hours of sleep the previous night felt better than he ever had before. He and Regulus shared a look during breakfast which sent James floating for the rest of the day. 

“Mate, what has been going on with you today? You haven’t even mentioned any new pranks or told me and Moony off for being all close,” Sirius speculated as they got ready for bed. Well, everyone except James who was touching up his hair and brushing his teeth. He had changed a few minutes earlier out of his school robes and into casual wear. Sirius walked into the bathroom when he stopped in his tracks. “Is that a  _ hickey _ ?”

“What? No, of course not. Some trick Peeves pulled on me. It’s nothing,” James’s lie could’ve fooled anyone, but Sirius knew him too well. 

“Moony, get in here please,” Sirius called. 

James sighed, getting agitated. “Why do you bloody need to show him a mark I got from stupid Peeves. It’s nothing. I have to go.” 

“What do you want?” Remus asked, reaching for his toothbrush. 

“Stand here,” Sirius directed, having him stand next to James. 

James starred in the mirror blankly, not knowing what Sirius’s point was. Instead of explaining, Sirius reached up to pull Remus’s shirt down a little so his collarbone was on display where there was a deep purple hickey. 

“Sirius!” Remus exclaimed, yanking his shirt back up. 

“See, your hickey and James’s “bruise” looks the exact same, so either you and that girl you’re so hell-bent on me not finding out about got a bit feisty last night or you and Peeves had a bit of fun.” 

“Can I brush my teeth now?” Remus asked, kissing Sirius on the forehead. 

“Prongs-,” Sirius started up again as James left the room to put his shoes on. 

“Look, it’s not some girl I’ve been with. It’s a guy. Now leave me the fuck alone,” James said, grabbing the Invisibility Cloak and Marauders Map in a huff and kicking Sirius’s bed post. 

James walked faster than he had before to their meeting spot, nearling running into Regulus as he dropped his things and buried his face in Regulus’s chest, angry tears coming out. 

“Jamie, what happened?” Regulus said, pulling them to the floor and holding the other boy. 

“I-I just lost it on him.” Was all James could get out as a fresh wave of tears overtook him. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” The boy couldn’t help but feel helpless. He wanted so bad to fix it for the other, but didn’t even know what was going on. 

Once James stopped crying, letting go of Regulus and leaning back on the wall he said bluntly, “I told them about us.” 

“What?” Regulus said in alarm, not having been ready for people to know. He knew that his brother would be angry not because of it being two guys, but because it was his younger brother and his best friend. 

“Oh, no, not about  _ us _ . Sirius had just been pestering me about who I’ve been seeing for the past few months and he just kept assuming it was a girl and I finally snapped and told him it was a guy. I left before he could say anything. I didn’t say anything about it being you. I just- I was so  _ angry _ I haven’t felt that way before. I hadn’t really thought about if I’m gay or not. I’ve only known I like you. But I’ve also liked girls in the past. Like, I really liked Lily during first and second year, but then she told me she’s into Marlene and now they’re dating and I just don’t know. What does that mean about me?” 

Regulus continued stroking the other’s hair and processed this information for a minute before speaking. “You could be bisexual. That means you like girls and guys. Or you could be pansexual which means you like people regardless of gender. I don’t want to tell you what you are and which you have to identify with, but I have a book I keep hidden in my trunk that talks about it. I can lend it to you sometime. It helped me come to terms with being demisexual.” 

“What’s that?” James asked, not having heard of a term like that before. 

“It essentially means that I don’t want to be with anyone unless I have an emotional connection with them first. Like, I hadn’t liked you or anyone else before we started talking because I haven’t had any friends. After we started hanging out, I realized what this feeling was and stole a book from the library on it to figure it out. But it’s not like I would be into anyone I was friends with. Just...yeah” 

“Oh.” 

“I know it’s weird-” 

“No, it’s not weird. Thank you for telling me.” 

The two stayed in that position for a few more minutes before James broke the silence again. “I’m sorry I was such a mess just now.” 

“Don’t apologize. I like being here for you,” Regulus said, kissing James’s forehead. James looked up and kissed the other boy’s lips, still hardly believing that he was able to do this. 

The two left earlier than they had liked, but they were both still tired from the night before. James walked Regulus back to the Slytherin common room under the Invisibility Cloak and gave him a longing kiss goodnight before going back to the Gryffindor tower. 

He opened the door as quietly as he could and went straight to the bathroom to change and get ready to go to sleep. 

Just as he opened the bathroom door again, he glanced around the room and almost let out a yelp because of Sirius sitting upright on his bed, staring straight back at James. 

“Prongs, listen,-” Sirius started to say before James cut him off.

“Save it.” 

“No, I need to apologize. I’ve been a huge dick and it doesn’t matter if you were with a guy or a girl, I should not have pressured you the way I did. I guess I just kinda lost myself.” 

“Okay,” Was all James could say. He didn’t want to forgive Sirius quite yet, but knew that he would in time. 

“Do you want to tell me about this guy?” Sirius asked, trying to get James to be friendly with him. 

James hesitated. He didn’t want Sirius to figure out that it was his brother, but he also had been wanting to talk about the boy he was so infatuated with. 

“Is he cute?” 

The Potter snorted, blushing a little as he thought about Regulus.”Yeah,  _ really _ cute. And hot.” 

Sirius smiled to himself, never having seen James like this. When he liked Lily in their first few years, he talked about her so confidently. Now, he looked unsure and shy while still looking so in love. “What’s your favorite part about him?” 

“Looks wise? I don't know. I guess his skin. He’s really pale but when he gets all embarrassed he gets really red and blushy. And it’s really soft. Oh god, and his nose is really adorable.” 

“What about personality?” Sirius had moved over so he was sitting on James’s bed with the curtains closed as not to disturb anyone else. He figured they would be up for a while. 

“Everything. I mean, he’s really sweet. He cares about everyone, even if they’ve wronged him in the past or judged him. And he’s really witty. Like, him and Remus have the same type of humor. They would get along.” 

“So I’m guessing he’s either a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw.” 

“Um, no, actually,” James said, looking down at the covers. 

“A Gryffindor too?” 

“Uh, no.” 

Sirius stayed quiet for a minute before spitting out, “A  _ Slytherin _ ?” 

“He’s a good person. You know, not everyone in that house is bad. He doesn’t agree with his family. I’ve offered for him to live with us to get away from them.” 

Silence enveloped both of them before Sirius said, “Okay. How did you guys start talking.” 

James skipped over a few parts but told him the geist of it. He didn’t want Regulus to feel uncomfortable with the information he shares. 

“Hold on. I’m still getting used to it, but I’m okay with him being a Slytherin. You really seem to like him and I trust that you wouldn’t put up with someone in the wrong crowd, but it  _ cannot _ be Malfoy.” 

James let out a small laugh, “No. Definitely not Malfoy. Or Snivellus.” 

“Okay, good.” 

The two talked until dawn, before passing out on James’s bed, each on opposite ends. Remus found them there only an hour or so after they fell asleep and decided to leave them there. Sirius told his boyfriend the previous night that he wanted to wait for James to come back so he could apologize and he assumed that they stayed up late talking. 

~~~

Regulus was confused as to why he didn’t see James at breakfast or at lunch, but caught his eye at dinner, offering him a small smile. 

James, in return, winked at him. He felt his heart stop when Sirius tapped his shoulder, thinking that he had figured it out, but it turned out that he was only asking James to pass the rolls. Nearing the end of the meal, as people started to clear out, Regulus signaled to James he was going to wait outside for him. 

Distractedly, the Gryffindor stumbled up from the table and mumbled something about wanting to catch up on homework before walking briskly out of the hall. He saw Regulus walking down the corridor and was beginning to wonder if he imagined it before the shorter boy turned around and mouthed, ‘Follow me’. 

He led them to a broom closet on the third floor, making sure that no one was around. Once James was inside, he cast a spell so no one would hear them and immediately pushed the other boy to the wall and kissed him hungrily. 

“You. Weren’t. At. Breakfast.” Regulus said, pecking his lips after each word. 

James gave him another proper kiss before answering. “I was asleep. Sirius waited up for me this morning and he apologized and we talked for the first time in a while that didn’t end up making me want to punch him.” 

Regulus made a noise of acknowledgement as he kissed up and down James’s neck, which was all he could reach without standing on his toes or for the other to lean down. “What did you talk about?” 

“You.” 

“Me?” 

“How great you are. He still doesn’t know it’s you, so don’t worry. He does know it’s a Slytherin, but probably thinks it’s someone in our year. I don’t think he suspects you.” 

“Good, because I want you all to myself for a while.” 

With that, they stopped talking for the remainder of the evening. 

~~~

When Sirius did find out, it wasn’t intentional. He had stopped trying to figure out who it was and accepted the fact that James would tell him when he was ready. He was okay with that. That being said, he found out in the least ideal way possible. 

Sirius and Remus had just been walking around after hours, sneaking around and drunk on love and laughter, when Sirius pulled him into an empty corridor for a quick kiss. When Sirius realized that they were, in fact, not the only ones in there he uttered the word, “ _ Fuck _ .” 

Regulus shot up from where he was leaning against James’s broad chest and started stuttering out, “I- Sirius! You-you weren’t, um... we were just.” 

James stood up, grabbing Regulus’s wrist and pulled him close to him, sensing that the other boy was on the verge of a panic attack. “Hey hey hey,” He whispered in his ear, bringing both of them down so Regulus was cradled in James’s lap, “Reg, everything is fine. We’re okay. They’re not going to do anything.” Regulus kept shaking and tears started leaking out of his eyes. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening. 

Sirius and Remus just stood there, watching in disbelief. Remus was the first to snap out of it, realizing how rude it was to stare when Regulus was in the middle of something. He tugged on his boyfriend’s hand, pulling him out. 

They stood there in silence for a few moments as Sirius was still processing. “That’s why he didn’t want to tell me. Because he’s dating my brother.” 

“Sir-” 

“Do you think everything he said was true?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“He was telling me all these great things about the bloke he’s been seeing. What if he was just doing all of this to pull my leg.” 

Remus looked abashed. “Neither of them are doing it in spite of you. James is a good liar, but there’s no way he could ever fake the love he has for that boy. Your brother just about had a fucking  _ breakdown _ in there and you’re asking if they’re doing it as a prank?” 

Sirius’s eyes widened, “Oh god, no. I’m so stupid. Sh-should I go back in and see if he’s okay?” 

“I think it’s best if we leave them be. James seemed to be handling it perfectly.” 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Sirius said, starting to walk back to the Gryffindor tower. He couldn’t stop thinking about how perfectly James really was handling it. 

~~~

James hadn’t gotten back to the common room until early in the morning, where he found Sirius sitting in front of the fireplace. He put the Invisibility Cloak down on the arm of the couch and sat down letting out a deep sigh. 

“I’m sorry.” Was the first thing that came out of Sirius’s mouth. 

“Don’t be sorry. You didn’t mean to.” James said, training his eyes on the burning logs. 

“I had no idea.” 

“If you had still talked to him you would’ve realized sooner, having had the information I gave you.” 

“James, how do you know that this isn’t some rouse from my paren-”

“Considering they are quite against men being with other men, I doubt it. You don’t even know half of what that boy has told me about those monsters.”

“I think I have a good hunch of what they’ve done.” 

“Oh, right. Sometimes I forget that you’ve lived with them for 15 years.” 

The conversation stopped after that, both boys still watching the flames. 

Sirius looked at James for the first time. “Is he okay?” 

James pondered the question for a minute. “I helped him calm down and after that we just talked for a while. We were planning on telling you at some point, but he was scared that you were going to hate him or tell  your parents or something.” 

“I would never.” 

“ I know that. He doesn’t.” 

“I’ll tell him that sometime. Maybe tomorrow.” 

“Maybe.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hii this is my first fanfic for this ship bc it consumed me a few month or two ago. I know it's not the best writing but I'm trying to get better. I know the ending was kinda rushed but I honestly didn't feel like writing this lmao. Thank you all for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated. (also oops i kinda forgot peter,,existed so hes not in this)


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